Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-10-31
The Granite Industry of Hardw1ck
and Woodbury..

as granite, composed of feldspar,
quartz and mica, is one of the most
useful rocks for many purposes that
nature has produced. 1t is a stone
remarkable for its power to resist the
influence of the weather, it is strong
to withstand pressure, abrasion and
wear; it can be easily quarried, split
or worked into building stone, mOnu-
ments or even statuary. By modern
machinery it can be polished as
smooth as glass. 1t has been used
for building, monumental and other
art of building tombstones, temples,
palaces and defensive battlements.
OF late there has been a great de
mand for granite, especially has the
! demand increased in the line of cut
stone for buildings, street pavements,
cemetery and monumental work.
! Granite is found in large quantities
| in northeastern Vermont, and though
a large per cent of it is not useful for
! all purposes, here and there may be
found quarries of perfect material, free
from streaks of other rock, iron and
mineral substances which discOlor and
deface it. Perhaps on account of the
use of granite in building the state
capitol at Montpelier, and the late
development of the quarries at Barre
and vicinity, Barre granite is bet
ter known than any in the state.
Within the last few years, however,
the Ryegate stone and the Hardwicl1
stone have been gaining a wide repu-
tatiOn.
AS it is our purpose in this article
to speak specially of the Hardwick
and Woodbury. quarries, we will not
attempt a detailed description of 9th
er grauite enterprises. For forty
years, at least, considerable granite
has been worked at Mackville, a vii
lage IL miles from So. Hardwick.
Here large number of boulder stone
lie above the surface and they are for
the most part free from seams, free
from discolorations and easy to split
and work. These boulders are scat
tered in all directions, south and
southeast, and at present several par
ties who do considerable quarrying
are depending entirely on them for
their stock. These fragments were
doubtless borne away from the lodges
or mother rocks by the upheavals, ice
and water forces that wrought such
great changes in the early geological
periods of the worlds formation.
A little south of Mackvllle hill and
mountain ranges appear which are
composed largely of granite. Fur
ther south, in Woodbury., these hills
become quite lofty mountains. Fur
ther west, across what is known as the
Gulf road, higher range of mountains
is found, through which here and there
granite crops out in various places.
Taking the whole range within few
miles of So. Hardwick, there is gran
tie of superior qualities for all the
purposes for which it can be used,
hi 4 al ~
continent. The supply is simply in
exhaustible.
Some twenty years ago Henry r.
| Mack, who had then had considera-
BILE experience in working marble,
established himself in business at So.
| Hardwick His work was well done,
and his dealings such with his Gus
toners that he had an extended bust
ness in the counties of Caledonia, Or
leans and Lamoille. Later, after the
railroad passed up the Lamoille val
ley, he ,eXtended his business, and
when the demand for granite monu-
mental work arose, he began to quar-
ry and cut granite. He used bOul-
der material, which proved well adapt
ed to his uses in monuments, etc.
Some two years ago he opened up
quarry, first using a boulder at the /
foot of the ledge, on the west
mountain, one and one half miles
from the depot and his shop. He Sc
lected this stone on account of its So
lidity, good working qualities, and
specially for its color and good pol
ishing qualities. 1t is much darker
in color than the average material in
this vicinity, takes fine polish, and
shows a wide contrast of color be-
tween the hammered and the polished
surfaces of the stone. The appearance
of a finished stone is striking and |
beautiful. The mixture of the three |
substances of the stone is very uni
form and so coarse as to give the |
stone an appearance similar to the |
red Scotch granite, though the color
is entirely different. The color NAV |
be described as a dark gray. Mr..
Mack, after working from this quarry
year or two, decided to buy the
land on which the quarry crops out,
and after some negotiations took Dor
man Bridgman in as partner and pur-
chased the farm. They are now at
work on sheet of the ledge twenty
feet in thickness, from which they
get better colored stone than when
the work was first started The lodges
lie high above the surface and the
quarrying and disposition of waste
material will be very easy. The work
-, ho Ill